The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse a Northern District of California judge's preliminary injunction staying a final rule to delay compliance dates for the 2016 Waste Prevention Rule. The Waste Prevention Rule imposed methane emission reductions on oil and gas operations on federal and Indian lands. Industry groups and some states criticised the rule as unnecessarily costly and duplicative of existing state regulations.
Since the Northern District of California's preliminary injunction, the District Court of Wyoming – which is handling an appeal of the Waste Prevention Rule filed by states and industry groups – stayed the rule. Environmental groups appealed the stay to the Tenth Circuit and the states of Wyoming and Montana moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The BLM is working on a final rule that would revise the requirements of the 2016 rule.
For further information on this topic please contact Samuel B Boxerman or Jim Wedeking at Sidley Austin LLP by telephone (+1 202 736 8000) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Sidley Austin LLP website can be accessed at www.sidley.com.
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